Maecus m



MARCUS M. CASS AND LAWSON R. BIGELOW, 0F WATKINS, NEW YORK.

GRAPPLE FOR RAISING STONE.

Speecaton of Letters Patent No. 14,282, dated February 19, 1856.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that we, MARCUS M. CASS and LAWSON R. BIGELow, of l/Vatkins, in the county Schuyler and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Construction of Grapples for Raising Stone and other Heavy Bodies; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making av part thereof, in which- Figure l, represents a perspective view of the entire apparatus.

The nature of our invention consists in the making of a grapple, by the combination of levers, braces, and wedge, as will be hereafter explained, whenthe power to raise lthe weight, is applied directly to the wedge,

and through it to the levers, to cause their jaws to tightly grasp and hold the stone or other heavy body, and thus avoiding the use of a Lewis or other auxiliary fastening.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use our invention, we will proceed to describe the same with reference to the drawings.

A, A, represent two levers, having their lower extremities formed into jaws a, a. The upper parts of these levers are slotted, and the extreme upper ends furnished with friction rolls b, b. In the slots of these levers, a wedge B, bound with a skeleton frame C, Can move as circumstances may require, the distance between the sides of the wedge, and the skeleton frame or strap C, is the same as the diameter of the friction wheels b, that guide and support them.

D, D, are two braces, pivoted to the levers A A, at c c. Above their pivoted points, they enlarge somewhat, so as to admit of a slot, through which the bolts E, E pass, that form the axles of the friction rolls b, b, and, upon which they freely turn. The lower ends of the braces E, E, are connected by a rule joint d. The object, of these braces D, D, is to prevent one lever from dropping so far below the other, as to throw out, or defeat the action of the wedge upon them. It is actually necessary that some play should be given to the levers because of the impossibility of catching the stone at a point or points where it would be .exactly balanced. The length of the slots in the upper part of the braces D regulates the distance that one lever may drop below the other, and should the stone be enough out of balance to effect a greater skewing than the slots admit of, then the braces act as a counterpoise transferring the excess of weight on one lever over to the other. Vithout these braces or their equivalents the jaws or levers would not preserve the necessary perpendicularity, for the proper action of the wedge.

The bar F, is pivoted to one of the levers at e, and its opposite end is provided with a series of holes 1, 2, 3, &c., through which, and through the opposite lever is passed a pin f, after the cushions g, on the points of thejaws c, a, are broughtup against the stone. The levers A, A, may be said to have no fixed center of motion, or fixed pivoting point, the particular size or shape of each and every article to be raised by it, makingy a center for itself, and thus it is applicable to things of various Sizes, which a grapple with fixed pivoting points is not applicable to.

The operation of the grapple is as follows: The pin f being removed, the cushions g, are properly placed against opposite sides of the stone, or other weight to be raised,

and the points of the jaws placed in the recesses of the cushions. The wedge B, is dropped down through the slots in the levers, and then the pin f, is passed through its lever, and the nearest corresponding hole in the bar F. The power to raise the stone,

is then applied to the eye Gr, of the strap C,

that goes around the wedge B, and as the wedge rises it forces out the upper ends of t-he levers, causing the lower ends to jam their cushions tight up against the stone, and the heavier the stone, the more the levers are pressed against it the pivots e, f, for the time being serving as the fulcra of the levers.

We are aware that, in pile drivers, and in rock boring machines, the jaws of a grapple have been opened and closed by a wedge or cam, but in such appliances there is a female catch over which the grapple takes; and the grapple holds with all the strength of its jaws, while in our grapple, the'weight of the stone itself furnishes the extent of friction between it and the cushions, to raise up said stone.l Besides in the machines referred to, the power to raise, is not applied jaws to tightly grasp and hold the body to be raised as set forth.

MARCUS M. CASS. LAWSON R. BIGELCW.

Witnesses to the signature of M. M. Cass:

A. B. SToUGH'roN,

to the wedge as we apply it, but they simply use the wedge to open or close the jaws.

Having thus fully described the nature of our invention, what we claim therein as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent The combination of the levers, braces, and

wedge, substantially as herein described, for n E COHEN' the purpose of making a grapple for raising Witnesses to the signature of Lawson R. stone or other heavy bodies, when the power Bigelow:

HORACE OGDEN, HIRAM CLARK.

to raise such body is applied to the wedge, and through it, to the levers, to cause their 

